There is less than a 50% chance that the June 21 plan for lifting all legal limits on social contact will be delayed, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has said.
Professor Graham Medley, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, offered a degree of optimism about the summer though he stressed the Indian variant meant things were still uncertain.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng also insisted that the June 21 date for the ending of restrictions in England was likely to be met.
He told Sky News that “people should have common sense, they should use judgment and I think if we act in a reasonable way, there is no reason to suppose that we can’t reopen the economy entirely on June 21”.
The BBC has been slammed for creating a creepy and weird guide to safer hugging during the coronavirus pandemic.
The corporation posted advice online alongside cartoons showing people practising safe hugging ahead of lockdown rules being eased today.
May 17 has been dubbed Happy Hug Day in England after social distancing measures that have banned physical contact between family and friends, outside of bubbles, were relaxed in the the latest phase of Boris Johnson s roadmap out of lockdown.
But the BBC decided the British public may need further education on how to correctly hug someone and collated advice from the experts , including a professor on the Sage committee.
Lockdown easing may be REVERSED if Indian variant spirals out of control, leading expert warns
Vanessa Chalmers, Digital Health Reporter
May 17 2021, 7:35 ET
Updated: May 17 2021, 9:17 ET
Vanessa Chalmers, Digital Health Reporter
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LOCKDOWN easing could be reversed if the Indian variant spirals out of control, a leading expert has warned.
Today’s relaxation of restrictions in England went ahead as planned despite the rapid growth in cases of the strain.
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Lockdown restrictions lifted in England today, but scientists are wary they could be reversed. Pictured: Bartender Leoni Houching makes cocktails for guests at the Hilton Metropole Brighton Hotel, May 17, as hospitality is allowed to open indoorsCredit: PA
Huge lockdown easing today has been marred by fears about the Indian variant triggering a third wave
SAGE scientists have said they won t enjoy new-found freedoms because the virus appears more infectious
Cases are surging in hotspots Bolton, Blackburn, Sefton, Bedford, Nottingham and Leicester
NHS England data show they are all but one (Sefton) behind the England average on jab rollout to adults
There are concerns sudden spikes in cases will be severe for people who have only had one or no doses of jab
Boris Johnsonâs message was not for people to get out and support their local business, but instead for them to exercise a âheavy dose of cautionâ.
The contrast with last yearâs great reopening â which saw a maskless Rishi Sunak cheerily serve diners at a London riverside branch of Wagamama, where the chancellor exhorted the public to âeat out to help outâ â was stark.
Today, there are no pictures of Johnson giving a thumbs-up in the pub or enjoying a fry-up, though his new health regime may have prohibited both in any event. Matt Hancock told broadcasters that he would be hugging his parents â but he would stay outside, where the risk is lower.